Capers tapped as top Texan

Ex-Panther coach offered 6-year deal

CARLTON THOMPSON, Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

Published
6:30 am CST, Saturday, January 20, 2001

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Love at first sight.

That's the best way to describe the aura that must have been in the room the first time Texans owner Bob McNair and general manager Charley Casserly sat down with Dom Capers to discuss their head coaching vacancy.

McNair and Casserly courted six other candidates and were impressed, to say the least, with each. But something kept leading them back to Capers, who after his second date was able to get the Texans to pop the question and propose a six-year deal.

After two days of heavy speculation, the inevitable became a reality. Capers is the first head coach in Texans history, and he will be formally introduced at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

"This is a huge move for our franchise," Casserly said. "We got the guy that we wanted, and we'll go from here."

Because Capers is still on the payroll of the Carolina Panthers, for whom he coached from 1995-1998, the Texans will pay him a relatively modest salary of $300,000 this year. He is due $1.1 million from the Panthers. Capers will earn $9.5 million over the final five years of his contract with the Texans, who begin play in 2002.

McNair said a few minor details had to be ironed out before signatures were put on the contract.

"Most of the points have been agreed to," he said. "It's just a matter of reducing it to writing, putting it into the contract and having the lawyers sign off on it."

But Capers, 50, was the man the Texans wanted all along, and one of the things that attracted them most to him was his experience with the expansion Panthers. Capers, Jacksonville's defensive coordinator the past two years, was 31-35 in four years as head coach of the Panthers -- a team he led to an expansion-record seven victories in their first season and to the NFC Championship Game the next season.

"We think very highly of Dom, and we think he's the perfect person for our club," McNair said. "He has been through this process before in Carolina and, really, putting a staff together and starting up an expansion team is different than stepping into an existing club.

"We visited with a number of coaches who are highly qualified, and who we think the world of. Any one of those fellows could have coached this team and done a very good job. But the only one who had the kind of background that we were looking for and had the experience with an expansion team was Dom, and that made him stand out.

"When Dom came in, he had all of his notes in hand -- his offensive plan, his defensive plan, how he organized his training camp. He had all of his information in place, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. It was quite clear that he had a vision, and he knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish and how he wanted to go about doing it. He was very impressive."

Capers, who could report to work in as little as two weeks, completed his second round of interviews late Thursday night and returned to Jacksonville on Friday morning for a surprise birthday party for his wife, Karen. He also had been scheduled to interview for Buffalo's head coaching vacancy over the weekend.

Jimmy Sexton, Capers' agent, remained in Houston to finalize a contract with McNair and Casserly. Nevertheless, Capers knew Houston was where he wanted to be.

"There was no question in my mind that there is a strong commitment -- from the top on down -- to building a winning, first-class franchise," Capers said. "I'm anxious to get started. I'm looking forward to having the time to be able to put a plan in place and execute that plan. I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity ahead of us.

"I'm big on feel, and from the time I interviewed the first time, I had a great feel for Mr. McNair and his approach and philosophy ... To me, this is a people business, and many times you just go on your instincts.

"If you do all of your research, it's just like preparing for a game," Capers said. "Sometimes, you just have to react on your instincts, and I had a very good feeling after leaving Houston the first time, and I felt the same way after I left (Friday morning)."